WASHINGTON – Twelve men recently released from the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay were involved in carrying out attacks on U.S. military and coalition targets in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said yesterday.

The Defense Department released the figures in the wake of reports that a former Guantanamo prisoner, “Commander” Abdullah Mehsud, who has forged ties with al Qaeda since his release, now leads a group whose members have strapped explosives on two Chinese engineers they kidnapped near the Afghanistan border.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Commander Alvin Plexico said the United States knows of at five released detainees who have “returned to the battlefield,” and said that there are uncorroborated reports that another seven “have participated in attacks or provided support to anti-coalition forces in Afghanistan.”

One released prisoner killed an Afghan judge leaving a mosque and another was recaptured firing on U.S. forces during a raid on a suspected training camp.

Two other freed detainees were killed in action during battles against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

“Reports of previously transferred detainees returning to al Qaeda and the Taliban is further evidence that these individuals are dedicated to their cause and have been trained to be deceptive,” Plexico said.

“From the beginning, we recognized the assessment process is not risk-free. There are inherent risks in transferring detainees for release.”

The United States has released 202 prisoners from Guantanamo.

In Pakistan, local leaders are trying to negotiate the release of the two Chinese, who were building a dam when they were kidnapped Saturday by terrorists led by the one-legged Mehsud.

Mehsud, 28, who calls himself “Commander Abdullah,” returned to Pakistan in March after about two years’ detention at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He had been captured by U.S.-allied Afghan forces in December 2001 while fighting for the Taliban, Pakistani officials said.

It was not clear why U.S. authorities released Mehsud. With Post Wire Services